


Missing Pieces

by Nerds_and_Lairs



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Injury Recovery, Sexual Tension, Whump, fredsquared - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:08:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29986092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerds_and_Lairs/pseuds/Nerds_and_Lairs
Summary: He's missing an organ or two. She's got a knack for connecting the dots. Together they make an unlikely pair and yet are a perfect match.A series of Fred^2 aka Dr. Frederick Chilton x Freddie Lounds that spans across the three seasons of Hannibal and beyond.
Relationships: Dr. Frederick Chilton/Freddie Lounds, FredSquared
Kudos: 2





	1. Nephrectomy

**Set between the episodes Rôti and Relevés, and a snippet during the latter.**

  
  


_ Nephrectomy (nuh-FREK-tuh-me): a surgical procedure to remove all or part of a kidney _

* * *

  
  


The first time that he had spoken to Miss Freddie Lounds, Dr. Frederick Chilton had spoken freely and proudly of having the presumed Chesapeake Ripper housed at his institution. There was some remorse for the lost nurse, but for Chilton, it confirmed what he knew to be true. 

And Freddie Lounds was all too happy to be the first one to break the news that the serial killer menace was safely locked away after all this time. She was practically giddy when the FBI wanted to confirm the story too.

But then, of course, Abel Gideon was not the Chesapeake Ripper. A fact that was made painfully clear within the old observatory. One piece of information that did surprise Chilton however was that Freddie Lounds had stayed with him nearly the entire ordeal. She wasn't in the operation room obviously but she was there when he was taken out of surgery, and she was right at his side when he woke up. 

"Dr. Chilton, so glad you're awake."

Hazy from it all and dehydrated, Chilton glanced around the unfamiliar room and then the pieces began to fit into place. He was still tempted to ask what had happened, but Miss Lounds was on the ready, as she poured a cup of water from a cheap, plastic pink pitcher. 

"Where is he?"

"I assume you are referring to Abel Gideon?"

"No, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Of course, I'm asking about Gideon," Chilton muttered before the journalist raised the cup to his lips and helped him drink. She wasn't frustrated with his remark- but she didn't seem to have a shred of sympathy for him either. 

_ ‘Good.’ _ he thought. He hated pity.

"Gideon is here actually. Will Graham shot him. And in an odd twist of fate Graham is here as well- with a fever.”

Chilton scoffed. "Wonderful. Your readers must be thrilled with the content you're producing right now."

"Not as happy as you must be, being alive and all. Gideon has been on a murder spree and you are the only victim of his that he kept alive. Why do you think that is?"

Chilton's eyes followed Freddie’s hand to the side table where she placed the now empty cup. The surface also housed the water pitcher and a recording device upon it. Chilton was forced to assume it was already on given her reputation.

"I'm only alive because you provided your services, Miss Lounds. Though one could argue that you've also allowed this fate to fall upon me."

"I appreciate the praise and can respect the resentment, doctor, but do you actually believe I could have prevented that unelected surgery of yours? In less than 48 hours Gideon killed 4 men, three of them with restraints still binding him. Had I tried to prevent the surgery he would have killed me, thus eliminating your life support."

Chilton let air pass through his nose before moving his eyes back to the ceiling. "Touche."

Freddie nodded as she leaned in closer to the patient hoping for a hypothesis to be brewing in his head. An idea she could post to her website later. “So?”

"I'd prefer not to speculate on something that I have yet to recover from, Miss Lounds."

Freddie pressed her thumb down on the button of her pen but did not commit to it. She wasn’t anxious and while the act might get a rise out of the doctor, an outburst for her to remark how traumatized he was by the event, but hadn’t he been through enough? Not only had Gideon marked him with a scar that would make the most vain individual reconsider swimming or removing their shirt in public, but his diet had been considerably downsized as well. She wasn’t a PETA-fascist level vegetarian, so she could sympathize with the man now having to maintain a low protein diet according to the medical staff she spoke to. But someone else could break that news to him. 

Sighing at the temporary defeat, Freddie rose from the chair and began to pack her things. If he wasn’t going to provide any substance she wasn’t going to stick around. There were other stories she could be working on.

“Leaving so soon?”

“I’ve got a client who might value my company more.”

“Abigail Hobbs,” Chilton muttered as he eyed her knowingly but she didn’t confirm it. 

“I’m sure you’ll be back in your preferred hospital in no time. Should you decide you want to talk about your experience for the public I hope that you’ll keep me in mind,” Freddie said as she put on her coat. She might have been out of a story but at least she could take a shower. “Try not to piss off any more surgeons, Dr. Chilton.”

The man couldn’t help but grin at the quip and nodded in return. “And may you avoid further libel charges, Miss Lounds,” he mused and with that, the redhead stormed out of the room. 

...

Chilton received only one other visitor in his brief stay at the hospital. Jack Crawford, though it was likely he only stopped by because of the fact that he was being treated in the same facility as the FBI’s show pony, Will Graham. Though on the day of the visitation there was more to Crawford’s arrival. One of the other criminal basket cases had died by immolation and man had to shudder at the thought.

Of all the ways to go, to die by fire, or to be burned at all wasn’t a scenario he wanted to imagine for himself.


	2. Nurikabe

**Set to episode Hassun**

_ Nurikabe (nr-uh-kaa-bee): a binary determination puzzle named for Nurikabe, an invisible wall in Japanese folklore that blocks roads and delays foot travel. _

* * *

  
  


“You made quite the entrance in there, Miss Lounds,” Chilton cooed in the courthouse halls as the journalist exited the ladies room. The psychologist ignored the red in her eyes, leftovers from hot angry tears. He was more focused on her attire, noting that she looked more like a femme fatale seen in old noir films than the face of a sleazy and often gory tabloid. 

Freddie didn’t respond to the comment and instead walked towards the exit. Her moment on the stand was short, and whatever good she had to offer to the late Abigail Hobbs was tainted by her need to reach in six separate cases. 

Losing a potential best-seller was heartbreaking, but losing Abigail was taking more of a toll than she would have predicted. She had seen some of the worst acts people could commit to another being. A man’s brains blown out in front of her, been in the heart of several serial killer sanctums, and had even bore witness to the torture of Frederick Chilton, yet somehow it was the details that were left out that kept her up these last few weeks. 

If only she had called in to check on Abigail. Before Will Graham whisked her away. Had she only been more blunt on her feelings about Will. Had she only just followed her instinct on chasing them back to the only logical place that Will would take her on such short notice, maybe, just maybe, that young woman would still be alive today.

She only hoped that Abigail’s death would not be in vain, that the trial that was spun up thanks to her ear in a sink would serve as the lock that put Will Graham behind bars forever. 

“Come now, Miss Lounds. Surely you aren’t still upset over my denying you an interview? Perhaps I can make it up to you? Say we share a coffee- I tell you about Gideon and you share your insights on why you blame Will Graham for the death of Abigail?”

Freddie stopped at the offer, surprised that he was still following her, even more surprised that he could keep up given his injury. Chilton assumed he was victorious until the woman turned her heels to face him, her self-directed disappointment now turned to disgust with him.

“First off, Abel Gideon is old news- the only thing that my following wants to read about now is Will Graham. Maybe when Gideon keels over that story may become relevant again but as of now I have nothing to gain from that subject. That given, I’m not going to share anything with you. I’m very aware that you are seeking out potential publication outlets to speak about your star patient, so let me make this perfectly clear. If I end up in a book or the like, it is going to have my name on the byline. Not yours.”

Chilton raised an eyebrow at the scorn he received. She was a stubborn thing but he couldn’t argue with the logic. He knew better than to force those in a hostile state. It was always so much easier to lure those who weren’t suspecting than to coax those who were already baring their teeth at him.

“Fair enough, Miss Lounds, but should you change your mind, you know how to reach me,” the doctor said with mirth which only seemed to upset the journalist further.

Freddie turned away and stalked off, her heels clicking violently with each step. She’d be back tomorrow as a spectator, knowing that the general administrator for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane had yet to take a stand. She only hoped that his reputation was clean enough to stake Graham to the chair, but she knew that his faults were as tainted as hers. If not more.

....

“Saving lives is just as arousing as ending them,” Dr. Chilton said, gripping his cane’s handle as he sat in the witness stand. “He likes to play God.”

‘Fuck,’ Freddie Lounds thought from the back of the courtroom as she scribbled hurried notes on her notepad. He was good. But most narcissists were always ready for attention. 

Had Chilton’s calling had not been for the criminally insane she might have been able to picture him on a stage or a screen. Freddie wasn’t going to deny that he was attractive, better than most of the lays she had turned to sources but he was also much smarter than most of her sources too. 

She tended to prey on individuals meeker and weaker than herself, at least in wit, but Dr. Chilton still was a potential down the line. He was damaged goods after all. Abel Gideon saw to that.

….

Frederick Chilton strolled down the courthouse steps with ease as he held his cane in one hand and gripped the handrail with the other. There was no accurate way to label Will Graham, but with any luck and the helping hand of justice, the collector of psychopaths would be able to maintain the prized specimen previously mentioned until he could extract the information necessary to propel him higher within social and academic circles. 

He nearly reached the bottom of the staircase when he recognized the bright and bloody red head of Freddie Lounds. 

“How about we talk about our favorite sociopath over something stronger than coffee?” Freddie suggested, both of her hands tucked into her dark blue trench coat. 

“You know I can’t, Miss Lounds. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that,” the man stated as he came to the final steps of the staircase, neither one of them breaking eye contact. 

Freddie Lounds should have figured as much especially since their last mutual conversation led to his unauthorized operation, but who could blame a girl for trying. When he didn’t continue on his way the woman figured there was still something that could make it to the table.

“Would you settle for drinks while we talk about anyone other than Will Graham?” she asked. It was never too early to draft up on an anniversary piece of Gideon's escape she figured, and if she was lucky the man's lips would be just as loose as his institution's security was after a few drinks.

The doctor smirked as he offered the arm that wasn’t attached to his crutch. 

“Lead the way, Miss Lounds.”

… 

Freddie escorted Chilton to one of the lesser known speakeasies of the city that she liked to frequent. It usually filled up with interesting people and they were no exception to that standard. 

They spoke only of their mutual interest in serial killers. Listing off the ones that drew them to their careers, hypothesizing the killers that were still 'at large' even if no trace had been seen from them in decades, of other survivors who had got away. By the time that Gideon had entered the conversation, Freddie hinted that they could save that conversation for another day. She wanted to spare Chilton of the trauma and the relief on his face was plain to see.

The pair had to go their own separate ways after they had racked up a considerable tab, one which Chilton had taken care of.

"It's not every day I get to engage in deep macabre conversations," he said in earnest. Freddie thought this was the telltale tactic that led to someone sleeping in the other person's bed but he was already halfway out the door before she could suggest a nightcap at her modest apartment. He was the head of a mental hospital who had responsibilities in the morning and she made the excuse of an upcoming deadline that she would likely spin into a reality. 

"Whenever you want to interview me for that profile, Miss Lounds, feel free to make an appointment with my secretary," Chilton said outside of the ice cream parlor that served as a front to the bar they had just exited. 

She nodded and thanked him, though she was second-guessing her own motives for reaching out for that interview. She stood by her original statement of Gideon being old news, but maybe this could grow into a back-scratching scenario. However, the journalist didn't see that as an actual possibility. 

It wasn't that she had changed her moral compass overnight, nor that she saw Chilton as the upstanding professional he made himself out to be. It just didn't seem to be in the cards for the time being.

Maybe after the trial and Will Graham was put to death or at least imprisoned for life she'd consider picking that offer back up.


	3. Cipher

**Set to episode Mukozuke**

_ Cipher (sahy-fer): a secret or disguised way of writing; a code. _

* * *

Going through the anonymous tip line for TattleCrimes, Freddie Lounds never expected much to come from the public. It was always best to keep expectations low. Each day it was the first thing she did with a cup of coffee on hand. Weed out the crazies and meeting points set in bars or cafes. Too many times had she fallen for the trick into a date with an avid fan. Most would be accusing a neighbor of some violent crime which wasn’t her department, but every now and then a real gem would be placed before her.

This tip didn’t fall into any of these categories. This tip filled her with dread.

_ ‘Go to the place when you managed to save a life rather than ruin one for your next story.’ _

She knew the location. The abandoned observatory. Where she served as Abel Gideon’s assistant as he disemboweled Chilton. Fear had struck a nerve within her. 

Picking up her cell phone she called Chilton’s office. Maybe this was his sick idea of flirting but that possibility went out the window when his secretary answered the phone to inform her that Chilton was stuck in a board of directors meeting until noon. 

“Can I take a message?” asked the woman on the other side of the line.

“Yeah. Tell him to call me back. And If I don’t pick up, I went looking for his kidney.”

…

Dr. Frederick Chilton stared at the receptionist as she recited for a third time the message that Miss Lounds had left him. He nodded and entered his office, doing his best not to panic. Surely it was a cheeky ploy from the journalist to get a rise out of him. This couldn’t be her asking for an interview though. 

On the third ring she answered and he gave a sigh of relief. 

“You nearly gave me a heart attack, Miss Lounds,” he scolded. He imagined her smiling on the other side but there was something grave in the silence that followed. “Miss Lounds?”

“Sorry, had to step away, there’s a lot going on here.”

“And where is ‘here’ exactly?” He knew where she had meant by the mention of his kidney in the message, he just hoped she had moved on from that dreadful place.

“The observatory,” Freddie whispered looking on as Jack Crawford exited the front entrance. Everyone on scene had heard his screams of anger. Of anguish. Beverly Katz was dead, dismembered and put on display. Just for him. “Somebody killed an FBI agent. I’ve got cops all around me so I can’t talk details but… Thanks for calling back.”

“Are you alright?”

The question was met with silence. Was she alright? Dead bodies weren’t exactly new for her. She had been around corpses before, had been the first on the scene a few times too, but that wasn’t what bothered her. 

The killer had contacted her. Used her to deliver a message to Jack Crawford. She was arguably a messenger of sorts, but this was one story she had a hard time delivering. 

“I’m alive, unharmed,” Freddie replied at last. “Just a heads up, your star patient will likely be getting some visitors today. The agent worked for Jack.”

Freddie hadn’t revealed the name of the dead agent but Chilton already had the face in his head. The one who had become a regular visitor to Will Graham. Before he could ask if he could guess the agent Freddie was already saying her goodbyes and hung up after. 

He knew his hospital would likely have revolving doors now but one thing he couldn’t understand was why the hell Miss Lounds would have him as the emergency contact. 

…

Three days after Beverly’s body was found, Freddie received a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize. Unlike most people today she always answered calls from unknown numbers. She couldn’t risk a lead going to another publication, not in today’s fast paced world of media.

“You’ve reached Freddie Lounds,” she murmured into the phone line as she reached for a pen and whatever scrap of paper she could find. 

“Good evening, Miss Lounds,” came the superior voice of Chilton. 

“Where are you calling from, doctor?” Freddie asked as she relaxed. The wasn’t a lead, but it was something she might chase after.

“I’m home, currently though I am calling on behalf of a patient of mine. I think you would be quite interested with this-”

“As interested as you taking Gideon back into your care?” Freddie jabbed. It was unexpected and somehow she felt a sense of betrayal when she had heard it from a transporter and not from Chilton himself. 

“Will Graham is personally requesting your presence,” Chilton continued, ignoring the question that the journalist threw at him. He grinned as he heard her curse under her breath. 

“How soon can I see him?” 

“Can you be over at 11?” 

Freddie eyed the half-empty bottle of wine she had intended on nursing throughout the rest of the night deciding now that she’d stick a cork in it. 

“I’ll see you then, Dr. Chilton.”

…

Following her exclusive interview with Will Graham to fulfill his plot to draw out his admirer, Freddie stopped by Chilton’s office to check in as well as interrogate him over the decision to house Abel Gideon again. Stepping into the office after the secretary opened the door, she was surprised to find Chilton on the other side of his desk with his cane set in front of him.

“I hope that Dr. Lector did not stir you too much,” Chilton mused, referring to their conversation at the main entrance of the institution. “He can be a rather intimidating gentleman.”

“I’m not sure if I would consider Dr. Lecter a gentleman,” Freddie admitted as she stepped closer towards the hospital’s administrator. “And I have a sinking suspicion your aren’t too fond of him either.”

“Why do you say that, Miss Lounds?”

“Let’s call it a woman’s intuition.”

“What if I just happen to prefer your company over his? I’m not indebted to many people, but I can only count on one hand the people I owe my life to,” Chilton suggested as he tilted his head and Freddie shook her head with a smile. 

“If you were really appreciative of me, you would have told me about Gideon yourself,” she said pointedly as she stepped closer again, only a foot separated them now. 

Chilton wasn’t a fool. He knew that Freddie was baiting him. He wondered briefly if he had not suggested to the TattleCrimes author that his facility housed the Chesapeake Ripper if he would have been gutted?

No. That blame was not on Freddie Lounds. He had administered the unorthodox procedure. He had used her to try to propel himself into the gilded halls of his colleagues he’d still be able to enjoy filet mignon. 

“Allow me to make that up to you, Miss Lounds. Would it be too bold of me to invite you to dinner?”

“On one condition,” Freddie whispered, her voice low. It wasn’t hostility he sensed in her voice but she was still as dangerous as ever.

“What would that be, Miss Lounds?”

“Just call me Freddie,” she growled before kissing him fully, it was with enough force that knocked him off balance even with his cane for support. 

Chilton suppressed the urge to wince as he stumbled back against his desk and released the cane to hold onto the journalist with his hands, both firmly planted at her waist. He ought to have been grateful that she hadn’t allowed his crutch clatter to the floor but there was a part of him that was envious of the crafted rod. That her hands were wrapped around it and not him. 

“You are full of surprises, Miss-.. Freddie,” he mumbled when the kiss broke. 

As he peered down at the woman, Chilton considered the possibility of screwing her in this office. It certainly would be scandalous but by no means the most unethical thing he had underneath his belt. Unfortunately for him, Freddie was already backing off and handing his cane back.

“I’d love to continue this conversation later, Doctor,” Freddie said a little louder than necessary. “But I have a deadline to meet. When and where can I interview you?” She asked as her now free hands trailed up the inside of his splayed pant legs.

“I’ll text you the address and we can negotiate the time,” Chilton breathed. If he didn’t want her before he was certainly seeking her attention now. “We’re both very important people after all.”

“Mhmm. Yes. Yes, we are,” she responded, stealing another kiss. She abruptly pulled herself away and let herself out. 

Chilton listened to her heels tap against the halls outside of his office, holding his breath in the hopes that she’d change her mind and come back. Dialing the extension to his secretary, the doctor asked if there were any other meetings scheduled for him this afternoon and was relieved to find he could focus on a more pressing matter at the moment. 


End file.
